Evaluation of uniformity of simultaneous powder deposition in multiple containers of different cross sections

Spatial bulk density distribution of powder filled into multiple containers, which is very important both theoretically and practically, has not yet been fully examined. In this research, the second generation mass deposition tester (MDT-II) was used to investigate the uniformity of simultaneous powder deposition in three parallel cylindrical containers and three parallel toroidal containers, so as to study the effects of container locations, container shape, and feed shoe speed on powder deposition. The current results demonstrated that (1) center container vs. right container: for most locations, the right container had higher mean final mass values than the center container, but the quantitative differences were reduced with increase in the feed shoe speed for cylindrical containers; (2) 100 vs. 500 mm/s feed shoe speed for toroidal containers: except for 0° and 180° orientations, the mean final mass values were similar at the two speeds; (3) 100 vs. 500 mm/s feed shoe speed for cylindrical containers: 500 mm/s feed shoe speed resulted in higher mean final mass values than 100 mm/s feed shoe speed for most locations; (4) cylindrical container vs. toroidal container: generally, toroidal containers had lower measured mean final mass values, with some exceptions along certain orientations; and the higher the feed shoe speed, the larger the difference was between the final mass values of center toroidal and cylindrical containers.